Electrical issues... Died, no crank, no power

Was driving around, stopped at a store for ~5 minutes... came out and turned the key - click.

After it clicked, there was no power to anything(interior lights, accessories, etc.). Fiddled with a few connections and wires around the battery, PDC, alternator, and starter, and would randomly get the power back.
Key on - gauges came to, fuel pump cycled on... turned the key, another click. Then no power at all, again.

Eventually got it started by jumping it, but it wouldn't idle on it's own, so I had to keep the revs up until I got home.
Also, the whole way, the volt gauge was pegged out at 19v.

Got it home, let it idle very briefly... but then it shut off again, with no power at all.

Alternator problem? Battery? Battery is <1 year old, but I'm not sure how that high voltage may have affected it... or if it could've just been a bad battery.

All connections to the battery, PDC, starter, and alt were secure, but I haven't looked inside the wire loom to check the wires specifically. It seems like it may be wiring, since power came some of the times(although it still wouldn't start), maybe a short?

Going to get the battery tested and check into the wiring first, then probably yank and test the alternator if everything else checks out.
Any ideas?

1999 4.0L

Good move, having the battery tested first.

Your alternator is a Nippon Denso that is regulated by the PCM. Most chain parts stores will test them and declare them "good", when in fact they aren't. I don't know if it is a problem with their test machines or operator error.

The 19 volts overcharging could be due to a bad battery, bad alternator, or bad signal from the PCM.

Post up what you find out about the battery.

Good luck.

Getting the battery tested is a good move, but I personally prefer to check everything that I can myself first. Stubborn, I guess. I would polish up all the connecting points first (sandpaper and clean up the crap that comes off), then put a charge on the battery for at least a few hours. Then check battery with a voltmeter. Should be over 12V. Then start your Heep and check for close to 14V when running. If it stays at 12 or drops, you are not charging.

i think battery.

Well, had the battery tested... it's not the problem, according to Advance anyway. Said it was a little under-charged, but that everything else read fine. They can give it a "recondition charge"... although I was there 30min before they closed, and it takes 2 hours apparently.

I was definitely leaning towards it being the battery, since after we got it running it made it ~5 miles then died and had no power(plus all of the overcharging).

I guess I'll get it charged up, then see if it will start up and stay running.

A visual inspection of all of the wires between the battery/starter/alt/PDC didn't seem to have any shorts, cuts, crimps, etc....

Ok, charge the battery overnight (Ok), 24 hours would be better. Clean your cables, both ends while its charging. Everything hooked back up, start the engine and measure voltage as Winterbeater told you in his post earlier.

Post up what voltage you get.

Good luck.

goalieman24 said:

A visual inspection of all of the wires between the battery/starter/alt/PDC didn't seem to have any shorts, cuts, crimps, etc....

Click to expand...

For the most part you wont "see" bad wires/connections. Test.

Sounds like trouble.
If the 1999 has the voltage regulator in the PCM like my 1991, you may be in trouble.
I have lots of electrical equipment available which may be hard for you to duplicate, but here is what I did.
1. disconnect alternator wiring completely.
2. connect battery charger/regulator to the battery to maintain 13 volts.
3. disconnect all sensors EXCEPT CPS and distributor (cam sensor on the '99. On my '91, they are the only sensors needed for a driveway test.
3. Start vehicle and see how it idles and revs up.

If this works, it shows that the high voltage is fouling up the PCM injector pulses or timing.
and you have not fried the CPS or CKS.

bad alternators RARELY fail with higher voltage, but it's not unheard of, one shorted diode and two open diodes could do it.

Check the voltage between the battery terminals with the engine running BEFORE rolling up your sleeves and diving in.

Also, read this article on PCM controlled alternators, scroll down to the Chrysler section: http://www.motor.com/article.asp?article_ID=1203

when ive had the exact sounding problems as u mention, mine i would turn the key to on have power try to start and all id get was a click and no more power. mine was dirty negative cables on my battery. i had a yotota that litterally dicided to do it all of a sudden out of nowhere and my ford ranger did it for a while til i discovered a dirty negative cable. i vote double check ur grounds

i have the exact same problem the OP talks about, and if i cycle the key from off to crank anywhere from 5 to 15 times it will eventually crank. not the battery,(problem persisted before and after a new battery) clean terminals, and the alternator charges fine. is there a voltage regulator that I can replace? or is there something in the computer that would be causing this? 96 4.0L and no check engine light

thanks

benXJ said:

i have the exact same problem the OP talks about, and if i cycle the key from off to crank anywhere from 5 to 15 times it will eventually crank. not the battery,(problem persisted before and after a new battery) clean terminals, and the alternator charges fine. is there a voltage regulator that I can replace? or is there something in the computer that would be causing this? 96 4.0L and no check engine light

thanks

Click to expand...

Your voltage regulator is your PCM.

You need to determine the weak component.

Key, key cylinder, ignition switch, harness, starter relay, NSS/clutch switch, harness, starter-solenoid.

Worn sloppy key/key cylinder, worn ignition switch, poor starter relay, ground interrupt from the NSS/clutch switch, the wiring between everything, the starter-solenoid.

This is assuming the battery and your main cables are good. Having the battery load tested would be best--even new battery's can fail, and do a voltage drop test on the main cables. Voltage drop test: http://www.aa1car.com/library/voltage_drop_testing.htm

How your Nippon Denso alternator is controlled by the PCM: http://www.motor.com/article.asp?article_ID=1203

I guess the OP couldn't fix this, he's selling his speakers now:dunno:

thanks for the info..been watching the volt gauge, and it behaves fine. the problem is just so random it's hard to track down.

one odd thing...if i have the driver door open and try to crank it and it won't start (again, randomly..sometimes it's fine other times it's not) well if it gives me trouble, the whole vehicle is dead, no interior lights, no nothing. BUT, if i press and release the door ajar switch with my finger, everything comes back to life full power, but then i'll hit the key to crank it and it clicks hard and dies again..i repeat the process of pushing the door ajar switch until it eventually cranks....?

That sounds bizarre. I'd still think you need to check the battery cables, in particular the ground cables.

15 minutes of work disconnecting , scraping clean all ground and battery connections would most likely solve your problem. At the very least, it would eliminate some very likely causes of your symptoms. This is a hands-on procedure. Those bad connections won't wave at you from under the hood yelling "look at me".

yea..gonna work on the grounds today, see where that gets me. at least it will be free.

just an update...seems that the pos. battery cable is getting thin/frayed/worn out and compounding other problems...gonna change that out and see how it does

Any resolution to this? My wife's '98 4.0 had the same problem 2 days ago. I was out of town so she took it to a garage and they said:
1. The battery was fried
2. The positive battery cable was corroded and breaking
3. The wires to the fuse box were fried
I still havent gotten to take a look at this, but it doesn't jive with me. Any thoughts on what would have caused the fried wires/battery? PCM/regulator? Thanks for the help.

Dirty terminals/connections create resistance which creates heat which then melts stuff.